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To Belfast and back......

spongebob squarepants

Well-known member
Joined
20 Dec 2009
Messages
8,929
Well after much deliberation and the short ownership span with the 993 I'm back in a 997.2 and this time an S. I really wanted a 997 GTS but after a fairly long search (For me) I was unable to find a car that fitted the bill and taking into account finding one with a Porsche warranty and the extras I wanted I was looking at around 65k, which is just too much on any 997 for me other than a Turbo.

Having had 2 x 993 in the past, I always wanted another 993, however within a few hours of owning the 993, I realised big mistake for me, and the cars use and purpose as in effect an only car, and bigger kids who hardly fitted, I needed to go back to a 997. Many thanks as ever to 911v who took the car back into stock, and he didn't take long to find a new owner.

Having recently bought a house and me and Mrs Sponge wanting improvements and particularly a conservatory (Actually an Orangery) plus needing an extension and a new garage to house said car, I decided I had to be sensible and look for something much cheaper. Anyway to cut a long story short and in a complete role reversal to Keith Robinson's recent thread, I found just the car at OPC Belfast, that fitted most of the requirements. I had bought a 993 from Dublin before with no problems but not from the North. The only issue I encountered was finance as I had sorted out with Jamie at Performance Finance (Highly recommended although. I couldn't use him on this occasion) however the finance company (Santander) would not deal with a NI dealer, OPC Belfast aimed to sort the finance and match Jamie's quote, however the local NI company refused the finance, and VW's was at 9% as opposed to 7.2%. After much wrangling VW actually bettered the lower rate and all was well. Pleasant surprise with Classicline Insurance who covered the car with only a very modest increase in premium over the 993.

Anyway the car is a cracker and OPC Belfast were an absolute joy to deal with from start to finish, and I would highly recommend them to anyone with a totally different feel to mainland based OPC's. Very genuine people and some really nice touches with the whole sale, a smaller OPC every time for me after this sale. What drew me to the car initially was the very low mileage, very reasonable price even compared to non OPC (They could of sold the car 5 times over) and the superb condition. Buy on condition is always quoted, however the condition in this case does come from a combination of cherished ownership and very low miles. The first owner covered it in tape and protection and hardly drove it.

Probably biggest bonus on collection was finding out the 2 year Porsche Warranty doesn't even start till this October, meaning 2 years and 9 months cover on the car 👍👍👍 4 year major service just carried out 300 miles ago and a full tank of fuel. On inspection the car was completely original and as close to 'as new' as you could get, no paintwork done whatsoever and as he left the factory. The interior in particular just like brand new with no wear on either bolster whatsoever.

Spec as follows:

Late 2010 997.2 Carrera S PDK
8,000 miles
Arctic Silver metallic
Sport and sport plus mode
Sports design steering wheel with paddle shift
19" Carrera S II Alloys with Colour Crested Centres
Full black leather extended to doors and dash
Sports Seats
PCM extended Navigation Module
Universal Audio Interface
Telephone Module
Heated seats
Park assist rear
Rear wiper

The car didn't have Sports Chrono but the dealer fitted this retrospectively at a cut price, for me a big bonus as no one else has ever used that Launch control or even sport mode! and I really don't like the clock spoiling the lines on the dash. The only thing I wanted on top which the car hasn't got is the SSE, however this can be resolved.

So after quick flight to Belfast, a blast down to Dublin with a few days out the UK, ferry to Holyhead and some particularly fun driving through Wales back to Manchester, here's some pics (Pics never seem to do silver cars justice) After the shortest 993 ownership experience in history, Silvie 997 might just be a long term keeper 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 and mega modern uber garage queen, the only issue being reaching the dreaded 9999 miles and having to park him up forever and never drive him ever again, he's already gone from 8037 miles to 8323 miles, this is very worrying! I'll get my tin hat on as I can feel the anger from the drive em brigade :floor: :floor: :hand:

Here's some pics...











 
Congrats, lush car.

Good find, hope you enjoy it.

:D
 
Lovely - well done.
Out of idle interest - is buying a car and returning it to the dealer a few days later because you have changed your mind (as opposed to there being something wrong with it) a very expensive experience?
 
rob_p said:
Lovely - well done.
Out of idle interest - is buying a car and returning it to the dealer a few days later because you have changed your mind (as opposed to there being something wrong with it) a very expensive experience?

Not with a 993 :thumb: 911v returned my full purchase price for the 993.
 
Very common misconceptions, which dealers have said they don't stock them? Mark doesn't but that's just one. If you look in the classifieds the 3.6's sell quickly, with dealers and private. For all the reasons mentioned they are one of the the best Carrera out there pound for pound for the money, the Germans rate them above the S, and the defining factor is the OPC' s who obviously don't treat them as second class!
Again if you look at the classifieds a lot of the S's are overpriced and hang around a long long time....

One of your recent posts regarding non "S" 997.2s. Does beg the question why you didn't go for a base 997.2 3.6 Carrera as you've been advising everyone else to do. Could be you've taken on board what everyone else has been stating on response to your previous posts.



spongebob squarepants said:
Well after much deliberation and the short ownership span with the 993 I'm back in a 997.2 and this time an S. I really wanted a 997 GTS but after a fairly long search (For me) I was unable to find a car that fitted the bill and taking into account finding one with a Porsche warranty and the extras I wanted I was looking at around 65k, which is just too much on any 997 for me other than a Turbo.

Having had 2 x 993 in the past, I always wanted another 993, however within a few hours of owning the 993, I realised big mistake for me, and the cars use and purpose as in effect an only car, and bigger kids who hardly fitted, I needed to go back to a 997. Many thanks as ever to 911v who took the car back into stock, and he didn't take long to find a new owner.

Having recently bought a house and me and Mrs Sponge wanting improvements and particularly a conservatory (Actually an Orangery) plus needing an extension and a new garage to house said car, I decided I had to be sensible and look for something much cheaper. Anyway to cut a long story short and in a complete role reversal to Keith Robinson's recent thread, I found just the car at OPC Belfast, that fitted most of the requirements. I had bought a 993 from Dublin before with no problems but not from the North. The only issue I encountered was finance as I had sorted out with Jamie at Performance Finance (Highly recommended although. I couldn't use him on this occasion) however the finance company (Santander) would not deal with a NI dealer, OPC Belfast aimed to sort the finance and match Jamie's quote, however the local NI company refused the finance, and VW's was at 9% as opposed to 7.2%. After much wrangling VW actually bettered the lower rate and all was well. Pleasant surprise with Classicline Insurance who covered the car with only a very modest increase in premium over the 993.

Anyway the car is a cracker and OPC Belfast were an absolute joy to deal with from start to finish, and I would highly recommend them to anyone with a totally different feel to mainland based OPC's. Very genuine people and some really nice touches with the whole sale, a smaller OPC every time for me after this sale. What drew me to the car initially was the very low mileage, very reasonable price even compared to non OPC (They could of sold the car 5 times over) and the superb condition. Buy on condition is always quoted, however the condition in this case does come from a combination of cherished ownership and very low miles. The first owner covered it in tape and protection and hardly drove it.

Probably biggest bonus on collection was finding out the 2 year Porsche Warranty doesn't even start till this October, meaning 2 years and 9 months cover on the car 👍👍👍 4 year major service just carried out 300 miles ago and a full tank of fuel. On inspection the car was completely original and as close to 'as new' as you could get, no paintwork done whatsoever and as he left the factory. The interior in particular just like brand new with no wear on either bolster whatsoever.

Spec as follows:

Late 2010 997.2 Carrera S PDK
8,000 miles
Arctic Silver metallic
Sport and sport plus mode
Sports design steering wheel with paddle shift
19" Carrera S II Alloys with Colour Crested Centres
Full black leather extended to doors and dash
Sports Seats
PCM extended Navigation Module
Universal Audio Interface
Telephone Module
Heated seats
Park assist rear
Rear wiper

The car didn't have Sports Chrono but the dealer fitted this retrospectively at a cut price, for me a big bonus as no one else has ever used that Launch control or even sport mode! and I really don't like the clock spoiling the lines on the dash. The only thing I wanted on top which the car hasn't got is the SSE, however this can be resolved.

So after quick flight to Belfast, a blast down to Dublin with a few days out the UK, ferry to Holyhead and some particularly fun driving through Wales back to Manchester, here's some pics (Pics never seem to do silver cars justice) After the shortest 993 ownership experience in history, Silvie 997 might just be a long term keeper 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱 and mega modern uber garage queen, the only issue being reaching the dreaded 9999 miles and having to park him up forever and never drive him ever again, he's already gone from 8037 miles to 8323 miles, this is very worrying! I'll get my tin hat on as I can feel the anger from the drive em brigade :floor: :floor: :hand:

Here's some pics...











 
Having programmed your car buying/selling exploits into the Fassbender Swapathon Predictor, you are scheduled to sell this car on 12 August 2015 :grin:
 
Very nice - but not a patch on the GTS you were seeking... :nooo:

I think you will regret your lack of patience... :frustrated:
 
mc72 said:
Very common misconceptions, which dealers have said they don't stock them? Mark doesn't but that's just one. If you look in the classifieds the 3.6's sell quickly, with dealers and private. For all the reasons mentioned they are one of the the best Carrera out there pound for pound for the money, the Germans rate them above the S, and the defining factor is the OPC' s who obviously don't treat them as second class!
Again if you look at the classifieds a lot of the S's are overpriced and hang around a long long time....

One of your recent posts regarding non "S" 997.2s. Does beg the question why you didn't go for a base 997.2 3.6 Carrera as you've been advising everyone else to do. Could be you've taken on board what everyone else has been stating on response to your previous posts.

???? Quite simple really and everything I said above stands, look at these 3.6 Carreras with relatively low miles on the clock? And the price? Why on earth would I buy a 3.6 when I got an S for the same or less money?????????

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...11-997-deposit-taken-similar-required/2226200

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...1-carrera-997/porsche-911-carrera-pdk/3320375

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...new-fuchs-alloys--tyres--2yr-warranty/3287218

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...upe-pdk--nav-bose-pasm-sports-exhaust/3185694
 
mc72 said:
Very common misconceptions, which dealers have said they don't stock them? Mark doesn't but that's just one. If you look in the classifieds the 3.6's sell quickly, with dealers and private. For all the reasons mentioned they are one of the the best Carrera out there pound for pound for the money, the Germans rate them above the S, and the defining factor is the OPC' s who obviously don't treat them as second class!
Again if you look at the classifieds a lot of the S's are overpriced and hang around a long long time....

One of your recent posts regarding non "S" 997.2s. Does beg the question why you didn't go for a base 997.2 3.6 Carrera as you've been advising everyone else to do. Could be you've taken on board what everyone else has been stating on response to your previous posts.

???? Quite simple really and everything I said above stands, look at these 3.6 Carreras with relatively low miles on the clock? And the price? Why on earth would I buy a 3.6 when I got an S for the same or less money?????????

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...11-997-deposit-taken-similar-required/2226200

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...1-carrera-997/porsche-911-carrera-pdk/3320375

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...new-fuchs-alloys--tyres--2yr-warranty/3287218

http://www.pistonheads.com/classifi...upe-pdk--nav-bose-pasm-sports-exhaust/3185694
 
John H said:
Very nice - but not a patch on the GTS you were seeking... :nooo:

I think you will regret your lack of patience... :frustrated:

John I would of loved a GTS, I decided on a silver car which made the search even harder, the one low miles car I found sold for 65k add the Porsche warranty that's a shade over 67k, the S I bought was 46500, so for me the extra 23 BHP, SSE, 4 months newer, extras and styling just didn't add up to 20 k :dont know: The cheaper ones I found sub 60k had reasons to be cheap.
Must of been great with your car as a new purchase, a bit of a Porsche bargain, and as a second hand buy they are obviously holding money very well, but didn't add up for me...
 
Looks great! Belfast OPC are great, I did try to get a car from them but they didn't have anything in my budget and haven't since I visited in November.

The prices of those 3.6's you posted has made me smile as it makes mine look to be a bargain. So pleased to see the Gen2's holding their money!

Health to enjoy! I hope you enjoyed your trip to belfast, it's a great place.

Keith
 
Spongebob, many congratulations on your new car. :D Looks like you have found a real gem.

Always find Belfast OPC a real joy to deal with, even when I am not on the hunt for a new car. They are attentive, without being at all pushy, and have the price point perfectly pitched to attract both local punters and those from mainland GB. I have looked in GB many times for a better overall package, and rarely does anything second-hand come up that matches the Belfast guys. :lol:
 
P.S. and you also get a snazzy NI number plate which doesn't date the car - what is there not to like ? :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

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